Types of Archery
In the HFS we have two distinctly different types of archery: Combat Archery and Target Archery. Few HFS kingdoms allow target archery. Through most of the time that the HFS portrays, archery was used in one form or another. Whether it was for hunting, for war or just for sport, the medieval period was full of innovative and skilled archers. Archery played a distinct role in many battles (such as at Agincourt during the Hundred Years War), and many cultures relied heavily on their skill as archers as a means of conquest (such as the nomadic warriors of the Asian steppes). One who practices archery is typically known as an "archer" or "bowman." Combat Archery Combat archery is more akin to armored combat than to target archery and is considered one of the many weapon forms used for that activity. This is where archers dressed in the garb and protective armor of our fighting classes can get onto the battlefield and shoot at live combatants. Special equipment is used to prevent actual injury during combat. Large blunt heads for the arrows prevent them from penetrating and low powered bows keep people safe on the field. Target Archery · Wooden shafts for arrows and crossbow bolts · Feather fletchings for arrows · Long bows, Short bows, Recurves and Cross bows made to replicate their medieval equivalents (No Compound bows). As the name implies in target archery we only shoot at non-living targets. Practices are held regularly outside while the weather is nice, and sometimes inside if the space is available. Many events will have Archery tournaments as well as open shooting for fun and practice. Tournaments give folks a chance to measure their skill against others and compete for prizes and fame. Often there are tournaments held with various themes. Some tourneys are held to pick Champions and others are to find the most promising novice archers. Some themes include taking shoots at different types of targets that represent various combat conditions, such as shooting at a castle window, an advancing warrior, or long distances. Mythology Archers are deities or heroes in several mythologies, including Greek Artemis and Apollo, Roman Diana and Cupid, Germanic Agilaz, continued in legends like those of William Tell, Palnetoke, or Robin Hood. Armenian Hayk and Babylonian Marduk, Indian Karna, Arjuna and Rama, and Persian Arash were all archers. In East Asia, Yi the archer features in several early Chinese myths, and the historical character of Zhou Tong features in many fictional forms. Jumong, the first Taewang of the Goguryeo kingdom of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, is claimed by legend to have been a near-godlike archer. Types of bows While there is great variety in the construction details of bows (both historic and modern) all bows consist of a string attached to elastic limbs that store mechanical energy imparted by the user drawing the string. Bows may be broadly split into two categories: those drawn by pulling the string directly and those that use a mechanism to pull the string. Directly drawn bows may be further divided based upon differences in the method of limb construction, notable examples being laminated bows and composite bows. Bows can also be classified by the bow shape of the limbs when unstrung; in contrast to simple straight bows, a recurve bow has tips that curve away from the archer when the bow is unstrung. The cross-section of the limb also varies; the classic longbow is a tall bow with narrow limbs that are D-shaped in cross section, and the flatbow has flat wide limbs that are approximately rectangular in cross-section. Mechanically drawn bows typically have a stock or other mounting, such as the crossbow. They are not limited by the strength of a single archer, and larger varieties have been used as siege engines. Types of arrows and fletchings The most common form of arrow consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end and with fletchings and a nock attached to the other end. Shafts are typically composed of solid wood, fiberglass, aluminium alloy, carbon fiber, or composite materials. Wooden arrows are prone to warping. Fiberglass arrows are brittle, but can be produced to uniform specifications easily. Aluminium shafts were a very popular high-performance choice in the latter half of the 20th century due to their straightness, lighter weight, and subsequently higher speed and flatter trajectories. Carbon fiber arrows became popular in the 1990s and are very light, flying even faster and flatter than aluminium arrows. In the HFS, arrow shafts may be made from only aluminum, plastic, graphite, or wood. Wood shafts must be taped their entire length with fiberglass strapping tape. The striking end of the arrow must be built up or reinforced to prevent tearing through the padding after repeated impacts. Arrow length from the back of the nock to the base of the head cannot exceed 28 inches. The shaft itself may be longer, but there must be a physical stopper in place to prevent overdrawing. The arrowhead is the primary functional component of the arrow. Some arrows may simply use a sharpened tip of the solid shaft, but it is far more common for separate arrowheads to be made, usually from metal, stone, or other hard materials. The most commonly used forms are target points, field points, and broadheads, although there are also other types, such as bodkin, judo, and blunt heads. For target archery the HFS uses common target points. While for combat within the HFS, all arrow-tips must meet the same safety standards as the melee weapons, but a tip that is deemed too rigid will not be allowed. The original metal tip must be removed. All arrows must be at least 2.5 inches in diameter, even those made with pool noodle. Fletching and nocks must be in good repair, and tips should be checked regularly for degrading foam. Properly colored covers may be used in lieu of ribbons for specialty arrows. Fletching is traditionally made from bird feathers, but also solid plastic vanes and thin sheetlike spin vanes are used. They are attached near the nock (rear) end of the arrow with thin double-sided tape, glue, or, traditionally, sinew. Three fletches is the most common configuration in all cultures, though more may be used. When three-fletched the fletches are equally spaced around the shaft with one placed such that it is perpendicular to the bow when nocked on the string. This fletch is called the "index fletch" or "cock feather" and the others are sometimes called the "hen feathers". Commonly, the cock feather is of a different color, traditionally the hens are solid and the cock is barred. However, if archers are using fletching made of feather or similar material they may use same color vanes, as different dyes can give varying stiffness to vanes, resulting in less precision. Also, like-colored fletching and nocks can assist in learning instinctive shooting (i.e. without sights), a technique often preferred by "traditional" archers (shooters of longbows and recurves). The fletching may be either parabolic (short feathers in a smooth parabolic curve) or shield (generally shaped like one-half of a narrow shield) cut and is often attached at an angle, known as helical fletching, to introduce a stabilizing spin to the arrow while in flight. Whether helicial or straight fletched, when natural fletching (bird feathers) are used it is critical that all feathers come from the same side of the bird. Misplacement of fletchings can often change the arrow's flight path dramatically. Bow String Dacron and other modern materials offer high strength for their weight and are used on most modern bows. Linen and other traditional materials are still used on traditional bows. Almost any fiber can be made into a bow-string. Protective equipment Most archers wear a bracer (also known as an arm-guard) to protect the inside of the bow arm and prevent clothing from catching the bow string. The Navajo people have developed highly-ornamented bracers as non-functional items of adornment. Some archers also wear protection on their chests, called chestguards or plastrons. The drawing fingers, or thumb in the case of archers using the thumb or Mongolian draw, are normally protected by a leather tab, glove, or thumb ring. A simple tab of leather is commonly used, as is a skeleton glove. Medieval Europeans probably used a complete leather glove. Eurasiatic archers using the Mongolian draw protect their thumbs, usually with leather, but also with special rings of various hard materials. Many surviving Turkish and Chinese examples are works of considerable art; some are so highly ornamented that they could not have been used to loose an arrow. Presumably these were items of personal adornment. In traditional Japanese archery a special glove is used, provided with a ridge which is used to draw the string. Shooting technique and form The bow is held in the hand opposite to the archer's dominant eye, though holding the bow in the dominant hand side is advocated by some. This hand is referred to as the bow hand and its arm the bow arm. The opposite hand is called the drawing hand or string hand. Terms such as bow shoulder or string elbow follow the same convention. Right-eye-dominant archers hold the bow with their left hand, have their left side facing the target, sight towards the target with their right eye and handle the arrow and string with their right hand. Aiming methods There are two main forms of aiming in archery: using the sight picture or not. The sight picture includes the target and the bow, as seen at the same time by the archer. With a fixed "anchor point" (where the string is brought to, or close to, the face), and a fully extended bow arm, successive shots taken with the sight picture in the same position will fall on the same point. This allows the archer to adjust aim with successive shots in order to achieve a good standard of accuracy. A fixed anchor point cannot be used with short bows, which by definition do not allow a full draw. Modern archery equipment usually includes sights which mark the predicted impact point. Sight picture aiming is universally used with modern equipment and also by many archers who use traditional bows. It allows good accuracy to be achieved after a moderate amount of practice. When using shortbows, or shooting from horseback, it is difficult to use the sight picture. The archer may look at the target but without including the weapon in the field of accurate view. Aiming involves the same sort of coordination between vision and motion that is used when throwing. With sufficient practice, such archers can normally achieve good practical accuracy for hunting or for war. Aiming without a sight picture may allow more rapid shooting. Instinctive shooting is a term often used, but there is no agreed definition. Some use it to mean shooting with a sight picture but without giving it conscious attention. Others use it to mean shooting without a sight picture.